1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a beatable insulated container for containing cold or hot beverages, which presents a series of functional advantages when compared to all the other known containers of its kind.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a particular container, specially usable as a container for hot beverages since it possesses means to maintain the interior temperature constant during prolonged periods of time, combined with the capability of heating the contents with an external heat source without having to extract the contents from the inside of the container.
Thus, the present invention is related to a heatable insulated container that has the properties of insulated containers that conserve heat, usually called a "thermos" or vacuum bottle, but, in addition, allows the contents of the container to be reheated without being removed from the container, a characteristic impossible with earlier vacuum bottles.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is known, the resulting habitual use of vacuum bottles is for conserving hot water which will be used on trips, in offices, or in the home, for the preparation of infusions of coffee, tea, or the like, and also in soups, or including milk. These containers fully satisfy the need of many people who count on hot water being permanently available and for that reason they are accepted worldwide and used extensively. However, they have the inconvenience that, given its constructive characteristics, they do not allow the reheating of the contents; that is they force the user to extract the contents from the vacuum bottle, use a container appropriate for doing said heating with an external heat source and later putting the contents back in the vacuum bottle.
Other containers known for the heating of liquids, such as kettles, coffee makers, milk jugs, etc., are suitable for reheating the contents, but they do not act as vacuum bottles since they allow the heat to dissipate very quickly.
The patent to Miyaji et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,675,508, entitled Electrically Heated Vacuum Bottle, discloses a vacuum bottle which includes an electric heater disposed within the confines of the inner shell of the vacuum bottle. The use of an electric heater disposed within the vacuum bottle creates a very expensive structure which can not easily be repaired.
The patent to Padamsee, U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,793, entitled Vacuum Vessel with Heat Input Portal and Beverage Brewing System Used Therewith, discloses a vacuum bottle containing a heat input portal for transferring heat to the contents of the bottle solely by means of thermal radiation.
Note that the patent to Padamsee specifically makes the portal easily transmit heat by radiation but remain an insulator with respect to heat transmission via conduction.
The following additional patents each disclose features in common with the present invention but do not teach or suggest a heatable insulated container according to the present invention: Posmansky, U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,721, entitled Solar Heated Vacuum Flask, Letsch et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,888, entitled Vacuum Carafe; Chung, U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,451, entitled Rubber Sealed Metal Vacuum Bottle and Stopper Caps Therefor; Arndt et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,978, entitled Insulated Container; Yamamoto, U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,437, entitled Method of Producing a Warmth Keeping Vessel Made of Ceramics or Porcelain; Perkins et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,199, entitled Vacuum Bottle Construction; Bramming, U.S. Pat. No. 3,910,441, entitled Vacuum Insulated Bottle; Humphress et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,531, entitled Method of Making Vacuum Containers; Bridges, U.S. Pat. No. 3,331,522, entitled Metal Vacuum Bottle with Plastic Jacket; Hosford, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 2,828,043, entitled Vacuum Container; Hassid et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,632,576, entitled, Vacuum Flask; Bridges, U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,873, entitled Vacuum Insulated Container; Potter, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,961,720, entitled Vacuum Insulated Container; McGough, U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,015, entitled Insulated Beverage Cozy; Pewitt, U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,758, entitled Insulated Coaster for Glasses, Cans, Bottles, or the Like; Zimmerman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,758, entitled Insulating Container, in Particular Insulating Bottle; Yeh, U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,926, entitled Mug and Coaster Assembly; Bufalini, U.S. Pat. No. 3,089,317, entitled Heat Exchanging Attachment for Receptacles; Byrns, U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,254, entitled Insulated Bottle Holder; Abbey, U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,863, Coaster Arrangement; Kelly, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,303, entitled Beverage Container Cooler; Larson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,444, entitled Insulating Jacket for a Beverage Container; Scheurer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,665, entitled Container Insulation Apparatus.